8 Taels Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Cutlet (一中8兩碳烤雞排) @ Yizhong Night Market, Taichung in Taiwan

I usually don't return to the same night market when I was in Taiwan back in 2025 but the allure of two food stalls resulted in us going back three times! And on our last night, I absolutely can't resist joining the long queue for 8 Taels Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Cutlet! 

Line was perpetually long every time I walked past and despite the low review rating of 3.2 on Google Maps; I told myself it's our last night and I needed to understand what the fuss was all about! p.s. obviously the fiery fire was a captivating factor for bystanders. 

There were fifteen people in front of me and it was kind of amazing that I was almost right at the front of the line in less than 10 minutes. The productivity was unmatched starting with the frying of the chicken cutlet in boiling hot.

Followed by a light grill over burning charcoal, before a thick layer of sauce was slathered on the sizzling chicken cutlet. Just the visual spectacle was enough to whet my appetite!

Can't wait to dig in but I really prefer to have some seating so that I can eat immediately; nothing beats having the food fresh and hot from the griddle! Let it sit a while more and I can imagine the chemical reaction affecting both texture and taste! 

Here's the gigantic piece of cutlet, uncut! Tael is a actually a weight measurement in the Chinese community although it differs from country to country, and 8 taels is equivalent to 300 grams in Taiwan. 

Two words verdict - nice. Do note that while the sauce slathered on the fried and then grilled piece of chicken was appetising (think there was a dash of lemon for extra zestiness), it did have the disadvantage of softening the crispiness of the skin. Meat was tender but surprisingly didn't shred smoothly as my teeth bit through. 

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Worth the queue?

Maybe, if it wasn't too long. 

Address

No. 9, Zunxian St, North District, 

Taichung City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Pricing

Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Cutlet - NT$100

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)